Brake rigging



W. E. WINE BRAKE RIGGING Nov. 3, 1953 2 Shets-Sheet 1 Filed March 14, 1950 z INVENTOR. Mag/17M E. m/vc; BY

W. E. WINE BRAKE RIGGING Nov. 3, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 14, 1950 777 O/P/VEYS Patented Nov. 3, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BRAKE RIGGING William E. Wine, Parker, Va.

Application March 14, 1950, Serial No. 149,541

7 Claims. (01. 188-33) My invention relates to brake rigging for railway freight cars.

With brake rigging as applied to railway freight cars today it is not possible to connect the dead levers thereof to the underframe of the car. Instead the dead levers are customarily connected to the bolsters of the trucks of the car. This is objectionable because such connections are eccentric with respect to the pivotal axes of the trucks and, therefore, tend to rotate them or cause them to swivel relatively to the underframe of the car. The trucks are, therefore, forced out of square with the result that their normal functions are impaired and parts thereof are subjected to abnormal wear.

The principal object of the invention is, therefore, to provide a brake rigging enabling the dead levers thereof to be connected to the underframe of the car and yet permitting a part of the brake rigging to extend above the bolsters of the car trucks.

The primary feature of the invention consists in providing the brake rigging with an auxiliary lever for initially receiving a force transmitted by the brake cylinder in applying the brakes of the car so that the dead lever may be connected to the car underframe.

Another feature of the invention consists in providing the brake rigging with an auxiliary lever which is mounted adjacent the live lever thereof and initially receives forces from the brake applying cylinder and transmits them to the live and dead levers without imparting any portion of said forces to the adjacent car truck.

Other and more specific features of the invention, residing in advantageous forms, combinations and relations of parts, will hereinafter appear and be pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of my improved brake rigging showing the parts thereof with the brakes applied.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the construction shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an end elevational view of the same construction.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on line 44 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Figure 1.

In the drawings illustrating the invention, l indicates the live lever and 2 the dead lever of a truck of a, railway car. As is well known, these levers are usually pivotally connected to and supported by brake beams 3 shown in dot and dash lines in Figure 1.

At their upper ends, the dead and live levers may be advantageously pivotally connected by a strap or other connector 4 which extends above the top of the bolster of the associated car truck.

Mounted adjacent the live lever is an auxiliary lever 5 which, at its upper end, is pivotally connected to means 6 which is actuated by the conventional brake cylinder (not shown). At its lower end the auxiliary lever is pivotally connected to jaws T of a compression rod 8 which overlap opposite sides of the live lever, the other end of the compression rod being pivotally connected to the dead lever intermediate its ends. Thus the compression rod 8 only communicates forces to the dead lever 2.

To prevent the auxiliary lever 5 from moving downwardly when the brakes are released, it is pivotally connected to the live lever by a pair of plates 9 which, at their inner ends, are bent inwardly into engagement with each other, being there connected by the member ID in the form of a loop through which the compression rod 8 normally extends.

It will thus be seen that, when the brakes are released if the auxiliary lever 5 tends to drop downwardly, such movement is prevented by the loop in engaging the under side of the compression rod 8.

By this arrangement of levers, it is possible to connect or anchor the upper end of dead lever 2 to the underframe of the car by a strap or the like I l, the center sill l2 of the underframe being shown in dot and dash lines. A bracket I3 to which the member II is connected is secured to the adjacent outwardly projecting flange [4 of the center sill l2.

Although the member I I may be pivotally connected to the dead lever 2 by the same pivot pin which connects the member 4 to the dead lever, member II is preferably connected thereto by a separate pivot pin immediately below its connection to member 4.

Various modifications may be made in the speciflc details and arrangement of parts herein shown without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. The combination with a brake rigging for railway cars having live and dead lever pivotally mounted on respectively opposite sides of the bolster of a truck of the railway car, and means for applying the brakes of the car, of an auxiliary lever mounted adjacent said live lever and connected to said means for applying the brakes, a compression rod extending through the truck bolster connecting said auxiliary lever to said dead lever, and means pivotally connecting said auxiliary lever to said live lever and means pivotally connected to said auxiliary lever for supporting the same when the brakes are released.

2. The combination with a brake rigging for railway cars having live and dead levers pivotally mounted on respectively opposite sides of the bolster of a truck of the railway car, and means for applying the brakes of the car, of an auxiliary lever mounted adjacent said live lever and connected at its upper end to the means for applying the brakes of the car, a compression rod extending through the truck bolster, said rod being pivotally connected to the lower end of said auxiliary lever and being pivotally connected to said dead lever intermediate its ends, means pivotally connecting said auxiliary lever to said live lever having a portion looped around said compression rod to maintain said auxiliary lever against rotation in one direction when the brakes are released, and means passing over the truck bolster pivotally connecting the upper ends of said live and dead levers.

3. The combination with a brake rigging for railway cars having live and dead levers pivotally mounted on respectively opposite sides of the bolster of a truck of the railway car, and means for applying the brakes of the car, of an auxiliary lever mounted adjacent said live lever and connected to said means for applying the brakes, a compression rod extending through said bolster pivotally connected to said auxiliary lever and to said dead lever, and means having a looped portion surrounding said rod and pivotally connected to said auxiliary lever, and means for pivotally connecting said last named lever to said live lever, said looped portion being engageable with said rod for supporting the auxiliary lever when the brakes are released.

4. The combination with a brake rigging for railway cars, having live and dead levers pivotally mounted on respectively opposite sides of the bolster of a truck of the railway car, and means for applying the brakes of the car, of an auxiliary lever mounted adjacent the live lever and connecting said brake-applying means to said live and dead levers, means for supporting said auxiliary lever when the brakes are released, means passing over the top of the bolster for pivotally connecting the upper ends or the live and dead levers, and means anchoring said dead lever to the underframe of the car.

5. The combination with a brake rigging for railway cars having live and dead levers pivotally mounted on respectively opposite sides 01' the bolster of a truck of the railway car, and means for applying the brakes oi the car, of an auxiliary lever mounted adjacent the live lever, a clevis member pivotally connecting said auxiliary lever and said live lever, said clevis member overlappingly disposed on opposite sides of both the live and auxiliary and means for supporting said auxiliary lever against rotation when the brakes are released.

6. The combination with a brake rigging for railway cars having live and dead levers pivotally mounted on respectively opposite sides of the bolster of a truck of the railway car, and means for applying the brakes 01' the car, of an auxiliary lever mounted adjacent the live lever, means pivotally connecting said auxiliary lever and said live lever, a compression rod extending through said bolster pivotally connected to said auxiliary lever and to said dead lever, said means being provided at its inner end with a looped portion adapted to engage said compression rod when the brakes are released to maintain said auxiliary lever against movement in one direction, and means for anchoring the dead lever to the underframe of the car.

7. The combination with a brake rigging for railway cars having live and dead levers pivotally mounted on respectively opposite sides 01' the bolster of a truck or the railway car, and means for applying the brakes of the car, of an auxiliary lever mounted adjacent the live lever, means pivotally connecting said auxiliary lever and said live lever, a compression rod extending through the bolster pivotally connected at one end to the dead lever and having a pair of laws at its opposite end which overlap portions of said live lever and are pivotally connected to said auxiliary lever, and means for anchoring said dead lever to the underirame oi the car.

WILLIAM E. WINE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,900,224 Busse et al Mar. 7, 1933 2,055,959 Baselt Sept. 29, 1936 2,176,177 Hankins Oct. 17, 1939 

